Simmons Bank presented $30,000 to Junior Achievement USA at the Simmons River Market Building auditorium in downtown Little Rock. The bank made the presentation Tuesday morning.
The donation, which will fund work-readiness and financial literacy skills for children across Simmons Bank's footprint, was made in recognition of nearly 3,000 volunteer hours that associates donated to their local communities earlier this fall.
"We are incredibly proud of our associates for continuing to exemplify our community bank heritage through service and volunteerism, especially during challenging times," said Jena Compton, Simmons Bank's chief people and corporate strategy officer. "It's a privilege to honor their efforts with today's donation to Junior Achievement, an organization that shares Simmons Bank's passion for providing education and financial literacy training to the next generation."
In September, associates participated in their third annual "Simmons Service Month," a companywide initiative to encourage volunteerism. Since not all associates could safely volunteer because of the coronavirus pandemic, Simmons Bank counted every five donated items or $10 donated as one service hour. Based on this equivalent, associates served nearly 3,000 volunteer hours and affected more than 170 communities.
"One of Junior Achievement's goals is to help young people better understand how money works so that they can become more financially capable adults," said Jack E. Kosakowski, president and chief executive officer of Junior Achievement USA. "We greatly appreciate the support of Simmons Bank in this effort. As the result of their commitment, more of today's young people will have brighter financial futures tomorrow."
To support associates' efforts, Simmons Bank gave all associates four hours of paid time off in September to volunteer and committed to make a $10 charitable donation for every service hour to JA USA, an associate-nominated charity. The bank's $30,000 gift will be targeted to affect children in the following Simmons Bank communities: Fayetteville; Nashville, Tenn.; Dallas; Oklahoma City; Kansas City, Mo.; St. Louis; and Wichita, Kan.
Simmons is the subsidiary bank for Simmons First National Corp. (NASDAQ: SFNC), a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff. Details: https://simmonsbank.com/.